Chandler, Rebecca C., M.G. Zwakhalen, Sandra, Docking, Rachael, Bruneau, Benjamin and Schofield, Patricia (2017) Attitudinal and knowledge barriers towards effective pain assessment and management in dementia: a narrative synthesis. Current Alzheimer Research, 14 (5). pp. 523-537. ISSN 1567-2050 (Print), 1875-5828 (Online) (doi:10.2174/1567205013666160602233118)

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Abstract

Under-assessment and inadequate treatment of pain is a common problem for older adults, particularly those with dementia. This may be in part attributed to knowledge deficits and negative attitudes among healthcare staff and informal caregivers towards pain, its assessment and its management in dementia. Knowledge and attitudes have a significant predictive relationship with behavior, potentially impacting pain assessment and management practices. Despite this there remains a paucity of research in the area and a lack of clarity about existing knowledge levels and attitudes among dementia caregivers. Therefore, the aims of this review were to: identify what knowledge deficits and attitudinal barriers exist amongst dementia caregivers; and identify the scales available to measure these. A search was carried out in the following electronic databases: Academic Search Premier; CINAHL; Education Research Complete; Humanities International Journals; Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection; PsychINFO; PsychArticles; Teacher Reference Center; and MEDLINE. A total of 13 articles met the inclusion criteria. A number of knowledge deficits and negative attitudes were identified, particularly in the use self-reports and pain assessment tools in dementia, and the safety of opioids. Understanding and positive attitudes were demonstrated in some areas, such as non-narcotic pain medications and identifying behavioral pain indicators. Of the 4 scales identified, positive results were found for internal consistency and content validity, however further refinement and testing is necessary. It was concluded attitudinal and knowledge barriers exist which should be addressed given their influence over practice behavior, however, there is a willingness and knowledge base from which progress can build.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Attitudes; Barriers; Dementia; Education; Knowledge; Pain assessment; Pain management; Scales
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Human Sciences (HUM)
Last Modified:	08 Jun 2020 03:50
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/16846

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